5 Fox Properties Disney Needs to Revive ASAP (They're Long Overdue)

Since Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, the studio has been slow to dig into the properties they now own. While Planet of the Apes, Alien, and Predator have all had successful films and shows, and Marvel has already integrated the Fantastic Four into the MCU (and will soon bring the X-Men in too), the House of Mouse has other stories in limbo.

By adding the Fox library to theirs, Disney has access to nearly 100 years of amazing movies and shows that can expand the scope of what the studio is known for. And while they have found ways into some of the properties that never really went away, there are others that are begging to be discovered by new audiences.

Alien Nation

Long before District 9 became a box office hit, Fox released Alien Nation. The movie, and the TV series that followed it, told the story of alien refugees who come to Earth and integrate into American life. Focused on "Newcomer" turned police officer Sam Francisco and his partner Matthew Sykes, the movie uses the sci-fi setup to explore the modern immigrant story through a crime noir lens.

Alien Nation was never a big success. The movie did OK at the box office, and the TV show lasted a single season (though a series of TV movies followed). But the concept, and the very cool-looking aliens, have been dormant since the 1990s. And while there's been talk of a new movie or series over the years, nothing has materialized.

Disney needs to find a way to bring Alien Nation back before it completely sours, just like the milk the Newcomers love so much.

Buckaroo Banzai

A cult classic that ended with a promise of more to come, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension was well ahead of its time, and may still be too out there for today, but the Hong Kong Cavaliers deserve another chance to shine. Mixing '80s New Wave aesthetic with pulp novel sensibilities, there is nothing else like Buckaroo Banzai.

In Disney's defense, it's hard to imagine Buckaroo being played by anyone other than Peter Weller, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth trying. The concept — a famous rock band of scientists and adventurers who also act as the best line of defense against alien invaders and the World Crime League — is just too fun to leave in the past.

Director W.D. Richter became so obsessed with Buckaroo Banzai that he put together a 300-page book, The Essential Buckaroo, that compiled every note and unfinished Buckaroo Banzai script writer Earl Mac Rauch had created. This book is filled with past and future tales that are just waiting to be told.

Fantastic Voyage

In Fantastic Voyage, a group of doctors and a Navy captain are tasked with saving the life of a defector from the Soviet Union who has been shot and is on the verge of death. To save the man, they must be shrunk down and sent inside his body, and they have just 60 minutes to pull it off before they will revert to their normal size.

Fantastic Voyage was a special effects marvel when it came out in 1966, and it is still an amazing-looking film today. The very setting of the movie, the insides of a human body, would be as amazing to see today as it was in 1966, especially on an IMAX screen. And modern CGI can ensure a more accurate representation of our innards.

This one may be happening sooner rather than later, with James Cameron saying he is working on a new version. If anyone can pull it off and make it as impressive as the original was in its day, it would be Cameron.

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

A spiritual sequel to Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and filled with murder, apparitions, deceit, and plenty of twists, Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte was nominated for 7 Academy Awards. But the film hasn't left as large an imprint as the movie it followed up, mainly because, while it has the same director, writer, and star (Bette Davis), Joan Crawford did not return for this one.

Still, the story, which sees a woman suspected of decapitating her lover decades earlier and now facing eviction while being haunted by the ghost of her deceased beau, has all the elements of a modern-day hit if it is handled by the right people. And the story itself is dense enough to work as a movie or a limited series.

Of course, trying to replace Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland as the stars would be difficult, but there is no shortage of amazing actresses who could give it their best shot.

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

A comedy set during the early days of aviation, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines is set during a fictional race from London to Paris, organized by a British newspaper magnate looking to prove that the United Kingdom is the master of the air, just as it is the master of the sea.

The movie sees pilots from around the world hoping to win the £10,000 and prove their own nation's aerial ingenuity. But what made Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines stand out when it was released in 1965 was the stunts. Even today, movies like Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning are aping the wild stunts this film pulled off.

Sure, it could all be done with CGI today, but seeing these early planes that look like they would fall apart if someone sneezed next to them, actually take flight, and the dangerous but comedic situations actually happen in camera would make a new version of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines truly stand out in the modern cinema landscape.